Boston, MA , Aug. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Brain Tumor Society is profoundly saddened to learn of the senator’s passing, and our thoughts immediately go out to his family, friends, staff, colleagues and loved ones in this difficult time. Our heartfelt condolences are extended especially to his wife, Cindy, seven children, mother, and siblings. We wish them comfort in their time of grieving.
This news is a further, painful reminder that brain cancer is non-partisan and unsparing across the conventional lines that unfortunately divide us in this nation. It can inflict men, women, children of any race, socioeconomic background, or party affiliation. It has taken from us Beau Biden; the “Lion of the Senate,” Democrat Edward “Ted” Kennedy; and now the “Maverick.” Glioblastoma is indeed one of the most complex, aggressive and difficult to treat of any cancer and there are few effective treatment options for patients.
If there is to be any upshot from this difficult news, it should be greater urgency with which this country rallies to support the nearly 700,000 Americans currently living with a glioblastoma or other brain tumor, while honoring the brave that have been taken from us by this disease.
As Senator McCain often implored during his campaign for president, we as a country are stronger when we dedicate ourselves to “causes greater than [our] own self-interest.” That is our hope at the National Brain Tumor Society; that 2018 will be the year that many across the country came together in a concerted effort, with renewed vigor, to pave the road toward a future of more effective treatments and ultimately a cure. Let this be the moment in our history that we decide to collectively take on glioblastoma and brain tumors with the same earnest with which we dedicate to our other national ills.
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